phone number, they are entered into a contest to win apparel and other prizes. The most popular use of this app is to compare prices.


Shoppers can scan the barcode of a product then compare the in-store price with prices online from Amazon, eBay or other e-commerce stores. In fact, both Amazon and eBay are trying to capitalize on this trend by developing their own barcode scanning apps. Finally, a number of retailers are using the technology


in reverse. Instead of customers performing the scan, sales associates scan barcodes off customers’ phones. Customers can


opt-in to receive special discounts and coupons on their phones, then get credit while checking out at the cash register. Target and J.C. Penny are two of the major retailers that have already rolled this out across their stores.


Group buying Can you name the fastest growing company ever? It’s not Google, Facebook or Twitter. It’s Groupon, a 17-month old web company that is expected to generate over $500 million in revenue this year. What is it? Groupon (group + coupon) presents one deep-


discounted deal at a time on their website. In order to receive the deal, a predetermined number of shoppers have to purchase it for the sale to become active. To make sure a sale becomes active, shoppers will naturally promote the deal to friends, family and their social media network. Groupon is not alone in this space. LivingSocial, BuyWithMe,


SocialBuy and Groop Swoop are all trying to cash in on the novelty of group buying. These sites are being fueled by coupon hunters, social media stewards and other early adopters. So how are group-buying websites transforming the retail


industry? Foremost, they are affecting how people shop. Groupon has over 16 million subscribers and has sold over 15 million coupons. The numbers alone reveal just how popular group buying has become. Meanwhile, retailers are seeing increased traffic and sales at


their stores. There are several case studies on the Groupon website that describe the success stories of retailers using Groupon.


98 Specialty Retail Report n Winter 2011


Milo Milo’s mission is to: “track every product on every shelf of every store in real-time.” In other words, the website shows you where a product is in stock, how much it costs at each location and how much it costs online. It’s the ultimate real-time price comparison tool. How will Milo influence the market? Foremost, Milo amplifies


the existing competitive dynamic between traditional brick and mortar retailers and e-commerce retailers. Brick and mortar stores will continue to gain from the instant gratification and tangible benefits (i.e. seeing and touching a product) of buying at a store. E-commerce retailers will continue to attract the price- sensitive shoppers who are not concerned about these attributes. Meanwhile, Milo could reduce brick and mortar stores to


“showrooms” as Chris Dannen suggests at the Upwardly Mobile blog. He proposes that consumers will use websites like Milo to perform their initial research for a product, visit a retail store to see it in person, then just buy later from the cheapest retailer. But as Milo hopes, the website will be a win-win-win for


everyone. Brick and mortar stores will benefit from increased exposure on the web and more foot traffic to their stores. E-commerce retailers will win the price-sensitive shoppers. Consumers will get the best of both. Regardless of how this plays out, it might be several years


before Milo has enough products and retailers in their database to make this tool truly valuable. They are off to a strong start with over 2 million products from 150 retailers at 50,000 locations in their catalog. But they will need the “buy-in” from both local and national retailers for this to be a truly valuable technology.


Houston Neal is the Director of Marketing at Software Advice, a website that reviews point-of-sale software. A version of this article was originally featured at softwareadvice.com.


For more about Groupon and FastMall, check out our extended version online at specialtyretail.com.


SpecialtyRetail.com


COURT ESY OF GROUPON COURT ESY OF GROUPON


COURT ESY OF GROUPON


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